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09/27/2022
Medicaid Communication Access
On Jan. 26, 2021, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) launched the Medicaid Communication Access service. NCDHHS’ goal is to improve communication access in healthcare settings for NC Medicaid and Health Choice beneficiaries and their companions (parent, spouse, partner) who are deaf, hard of hearing or deafblind.
This joint venture of the Division of Health Benefits (DHB) and the Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DSDHH) enables DSDHH to reimburse Medicaid contracted providers for a variety of services, such as sign language interpreters, Communication Access Real-time Translation (CART) services, and more in approved settings.
Highlights as of August 31, 2022
- More than 200 healthcare providers registered to participate
- More than $2000,000 reimbursed to healthcare providers for communication access services
- More than $6,000 paid to support service providers to be present with deafblind beneficiaries during healthcare appointments
- Communication access signs for healthcare providers printed
Additional services at no cost to the provider
- Pocketalker, a personal sound amplification listening device that is a tool for communicating with hard-of-hearing individuals
- Support Service Provider (SSP) services for deafblind patients. The SSP provides guidance and transportation services for deafblind individuals
- Training and education to meet the needs of healthcare providers
Retroactive Reimbursement
As a one-time catch-up, healthcare providers can be retroactively reimbursed for communication access (e.g., sign language interpreters) they provided for Medicaid or Health Choice beneficiaries since January 26, 2021. Once registered, providers may submit those invoices to DSDHH to be reimbursed. (Invoices might not be reimbursed 100%. The healthcare provider is responsible for the remaining balance.)
Registration
If you are already registered, please share this information through your network of healthcare providers. If you are not registered, please complete this online registration form (takes about three minutes).
Contact
If you have questions about this new service, please contact David Litman, the Medicaid communication access coordinator, at [email protected] or 984-884-1093.
